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My Astrophotography Truck

11K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  FahrenheitZ71 
#1 · (Edited)
Thought I'd start a thread to show a ZR2 I've been building to help me get to places. I'm an astrophotography enthusiast and I need to get to VERY dark places to take my pictures. This truck combines my passion for my hobby and for getting lost in trails.

Modifications (2019 Colorado ZR2 Gasoline):
- BDS 4" suspension lift installed at Roco 4x4, in Miami, FL;
- Leitner Active Cargo System with GearPod XL for my astro equipment (including a 8" Newtonian Telescope);
- Maxtrax mounted on Gearpod;
- Maxxis 34" M/T tires on Black Rhino Chase 17x9.0 6/120 wheels (no spacers) OR factory Duratrac 31" on factory wheels running without spacers either (I use the factory set for city and highway and the 34"s for trails);
- Rotopax fuel and water tanks;
- Amazon LED light bar;
- Amazon LED lateral spot lights;
- Red LED lights in the bed to enhance night pictures;
- Two inverters, one supplying the cabin and another supplying the bed with an outlet in the rear bumper;
- 12V socket mounted on the Leitner rack;
- CB radio with antenna mounted on the Leitner rack;
- N-Fab rails and steps;`
- Hi-Lift Jack attached to the bed with cable ties;
- Trimming of the plastic fender rims behind the front wheels.

Hope you like it!
 

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#7 ·
You win best 1st post. :grin2:
 
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#11 ·
Hi Burl! I usually use a Canon 6D with a wide-angle Rokinon lens (14mm, f/2.8 ). I modified that Canon by getting the IR/UV filter removed from the sensor, which renders the camera practically useless for day pictures. For deep sky photography, I use an Orion Astrograph 8".
 
#15 ·
As someone else who enjoys shooting nightscapes. I am jealous of no only your rig but of the places you have been to shoot. Great stuff.
 
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#16 ·
Thought I'd start a thread to show a ZR2 I've been building to help me get to places. I'm an astrophotography enthusiast and I need to get to VERY dark places to take my pictures. This truck combines my passion for my hobby and for getting lost in trails.



Modifications (2019 Colorado ZR2 Gasoline):

- BDS 4" suspension lift installed at Roco 4x4, in Miami, FL;

- Leitner Active Cargo System with GearPod XL for my astro equipment (including a 8" Newtonian Telescope);

- Maxtrax mounted on Gearpod;

- Maxxis 34" M/T tires on Black Rhino Chase 17x9.0 6/120 wheels (no spacers) OR factory Duratrac 31" on factory wheels running without spacers either (I used the factory set for city and highway and the 34"s for trails);

- Rotopax fuel and water tanks;

- Amazon LED light bar;

- Amazon LED lateral spot lights;

- Red LED lights in the bed to enhance night pictures;

- Two inverters, one supplying the cabin and another supplying the bed with an outlet in the rear bumper;

- 12V socket mounted on the Leitner rack;

- CB radio with antenna mounted on the Leitner rack;

- N-Fab rails and steps;`

- Hi-Lift Jack attached to the bed with cable ties;

- Trimming of the plastic fender rims behind the front wheels.



Hope you like it!
Nice rig and pics! Loved to see some more of your night pics with the truck in it. Thanks.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
#18 ·
I'll post more, but night pics are much harder to take. For instance, these days have been prohibitive because of the full moon. There are just too many variables to deal with. Living in Florida, far from really dark skies, is another. For now, I'm using the truck to scout new places, but it might take me a year or more to return to those places at the right time for a great picture.
 
#23 ·
Here are some videos showing what a ZR2 with the BDS lift kit and a mediocre driver can do in Moab:

Climbing Wipe-Out Hill:
Climbing Hell's Gate:
Going down Hell's Gate:
Hell's Revenge's Car Wash:

As you can see in the last video, my rear left fender flare was already gone. Front flares were trimmed, but they still need further trimming (you can hear the tire rubbing on the Hell's Gate climb). And that's with 34" tires (let alone 35"s...). If you're going to do some serious rock crawling, consider your flares gone, unless you trim them real good...
 
#27 · (Edited)
I believe that cars must have stories with their owners. The cars I like the most are the ones I have a lot of stories with. I take them to the limit, but I also take good care of them. Eventually, I'll restore them if needed. But they gotta be used!

Here are my other two. Lots of stories...
 

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#25 ·
Really nice images of the truck and night sky. I really like the milky way with your truck, fantastic! I'll have to do something similar with my canyon :)


I do mostly dso stuff in my light polluted backyard.. but I've been itching to go camping at a darksite.



I have a handful of images uploaded here:


https://www.astrobin.com/users/JamesR/


Everything except the California Nebula and the M81/82 image were taken from my back yard.


Cheers!
 
#28 ·
Wow, Jimbo, your pictures are amazing! Congratulations. My only DSO picture so far is the one attached of the Orion nebulae, taken from my backyard in Miami with the Canon 6D and the Orion Astrograph 8". Are you happy with the Qhy11 / SVQ100 pair? Would you recommend them? It's quite an investment, but the results are very impressive. How polluted is your area?
 

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#36 ·
I do enjoy taking photos of the night sky, and never put 2 and 2 together to hop in the truck and find a dark spot to spend the night :D Think I've got some ideas for what I want to do with mine now.
 
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